Palo Alto, the city known as the "Birthplace of the Silicon Valley," is 35 miles south of San Francisco and fronts the San Francisco Bay at Palo Alto Baylines Park. Several fresh water lakes are within 15 miles of town and offer visitors a chance to enjoy water sports, hiking and other recreational activities.

Arastradero Preserve

Bring your binoculars, horse, boots and leashed dog to Pearson-Arastradero Preserve, a park that features a mixture of grassland, evergreens and water. Hike or go horseback riding on more than 10 miles of trails, where you might spy mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, deer and birds. The trail takes you past the lake. It's closed to swimming, but fishing is allowed year-round. To access the lake that's in the city limits, use the Paseo del Roble entrance and head less than a half mile to the water.

Lake Lagunitas

Discover the hidden gem of Lake Lagunitas on the Stanford University campus in Palo Alto, where you can have a picnic and admire the pond from shore. Once a hotbed of recreational activity for students and visitors who windsurfed and sailed, now the lake exists to support the California tiger salamander population. The salamanders migrate from the neighboring grasses to breed at the lake. Visitors are welcome on campus; maps are available at the entrance and parking is available for a fee.

Shoreline Lake

Enjoy an outing at Mountain View's Shoreline Lake, located less than 5 miles southeast of Palo Alto. Paddleboats, sailboats, and rowboat rentals are available, or bring a kayak or windsurf board. This waterway is also a wildlife sanctuary, so motorized boats are not allowed. A man-made lake, Shoreline Lake gets its water from the San Francisco Bay, which you can view from one of the trails that weave around the 50 acres of shoreline. Bring a picnic and spread out on the grasslands next to the lake. Ball games and other sports activities are not allowed on the grass.

Crystal Springs Reservoir

Walking, running, bicycling and horseback riding on the Crystal Springs Regional Trail are the main attractions at the Crystal Springs Reservoirs. The paved trail, which is 15 miles long, takes you past fir forests and wetlands, following the east side of Crystal Springs Reservoir. If you continue on the trail, past the reservoir, you'll see Edgewood Park, the Filoli country estate, and the Pulgas Water Temple -- a reflecting pool graced by a classical Greek structure. The reservoir is about 15 miles northwest of Palo Alto.

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About the Author

Nellene Teubner Plouffe is a writer who started her journalism career as a reporter and columnist for the "Orange County Register" newspaper in 1992. In 1995, Teubner Plouffe received a first-place award in column writing from the California Newspaper Publishers’ Association. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.